Surveying the Destruction Caused by Hurricane Sandy

In the days before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, few people in New York City anticipated the scale of destruction of the storm. The map shows the estimated height reached by floodwaters, which topped 17 feet in some parts, according to surveys and weather data collected by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Hurricane Sandy came at the New York metropolitan region directly, a frontal assault of wind and waves along hundreds of miles of the coast. More than 900 buildings were destroyed, and at least another 12,000 sustained major damage, according to initial estimates by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.